The Captive by Amanda Ashley Page B

time.
    He frowned. It sounded like sky cannon.
    He glanced over his shoulder, swore under his breath when he
saw a cloud of thick black smoke rising from the direction of the mine. A
moment later, he felt the ground beneath his feet shudder. There was an
explosion, and a hole big enough to ride a horse through appeared in the far
wall.
    “What’s happening?” Ashlynne asked.
    “We’re under attack.”
    She shook her head. “No, that can’t be.”
    He heard the low whine of incoming sky cannon. Grabbing
Ashlynne by the arm, he began running toward the opposite end of the yard,
dragging the girl behind him. The flowers tumbled from her hands, leaving a
colorful trail in their wake.
    They were nearing the edge of the gardens when there was a
violent explosion. Ashlynne screamed as the house exploded in flames.
    “Let me go!” she shrieked. She tried to wrest her arm from
Number Four’s grasp, but he held her tightly.
    “You fool! What do you think you’re gonna do?”
    “My parents are in there!”
    “Then they’re dead.” His words were harsh, deliberately
cruel. “Come on,” he said, tugging on her arm. “We’re getting out of here.”
    “I’m not leaving them!” she shrieked. “You can’t make me!
Let me go!”
    “Like hell.”
    She glared at him, her eyes glittering like chips of cold
green glass as she pointed the controller at his chest. “Let me go.”
    He hesitated for the space of a heartbeat, wondering if he
could snatch it from her hand before she could activate it.
    “Let me go!”
    Her thumb moved to the top of the controller, and he dropped
her arm.
    As soon as he released her, she ran toward the blazing
inferno that had once been her home.
    Muttering an oath, Falkon turned away. If she wanted to
commit suicide, that was her business but he was getting the hell out of there
while the getting was good. If looking after their own skins to come looking
for one prisoner. With any luck, they would think he had died when the house
exploded.
    He continued down the path that led to the section of garden
wall that had been damaged and crawled through the opening. Standing there, he
could see the mine below. A battle cruiser hovered over the mine, the black and
gold shield of Hodore plainly visible on the ship’s underbelly. Several small
hovercraft lined the beach. Hodore. There was no reason for them to attack the
mine, he thought, frowning. They were already getting their fair share of
crystals.
    Hatred flooded his soul as he stared at the black-helmeted
men swarming over the mine. The familiar stench of cannon smoke and seared
flesh reached his nostrils, sickening him. For a moment, his mind went back in
time and he saw it all again—the ruins that had once been his home, the charred
remains of his daughter’s favorite doll…
    His eyes narrowed as he glanced at the battle cruiser, then
at the figures moving around near the mine’s administration building. Had Drade
persuaded Hodore to attack Tierde? Was he down there, even now, strutting back
and forth while he decided who lived and who died? Drade…
    Falkon’s hands clenched and unclenched as he imagined his
hands at Drade’s throat, squeezing, squeezing…
    A high-pitched scream scattered his thoughts. Turning, he
peered back through the hole in the wall and saw Ashlynne running across the
yard, her skirts billowing behind her. Taking a step forward, he saw two men
garbed in the black and gold uniforms of Hodore pursuing her.
    Rage rose within Falkon, hot and swift and impossible to
ignore. Adrenaline pumping, he stepped through the break in the wall and gave
chase.
    Ashlynne screamed as she felt a hand close on her arm. A
moment later, she was jerked to a halt, then shoved to the ground. Before she
could so much as blink, the man was straddling her hips, one of his hands
imprisoning both of hers.
    She stared past him to the second man, her eyes widening as
he began to unfasten his pants.
    “No!” She screamed the word. “No!